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Impact of New Education Policy 2020 on Higher Education

Conference Paper · November 2020

DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.13332413.v1

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 Impact of New Education Policy 2020 on Higher
Education

Ajay Kurien1, Dr Sudeep B. Chandramana2

1. Internal Quality Assurance Cell, MACFAST, Tiruvalla, India
2. Department of Management Studies, MACFAST, Tiruvalla, India
Email: ajayk@macfast.org, sudeep@macfast.org

Abstract

The New Education Policy announced by Government of India (NEP 2020) was a welcoming change
and fresh news amidst all the negativities surrounding the world due to the challenges posed by Covid-
19 pandemic. The announcement of NEP 2020 was purely unexpected by many. The changes that NEP
2020 has recommended were something that many educationists never saw coming. Though the
education policy has impacted school and college education equally, this article mainly focuses on NEP
2020 and its impact on Higher Education. This paper also outlines the salient features of NEP and
analyses how they affect the existing education system.

Keywords: New Education Policy, Higher Education, Covid-19

I. INTRODUCTION

The National Policy on Education (NPE) is a policy formulated by the Government of India to
promote education amongst India's people. The policy covers elementary education to colleges
in both rural and urban India. The first NPE was promulgated by the Government of India by
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1968, the second by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1986,
and the third by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2020.

The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), which was approved by the Union Cabinet
of India on 29 July 2020, outlines the vision of India's new education system. The new policy
replaces the previous National Policy on Education, 1986. The policy is a comprehensive
framework for elementary education to higher education as well as vocational training in both
rural and urban India. The policy aims to transform India's education system by 2021. The
language policy in NEP is a broad guideline and advisory in nature; and it is up to the states,
institutions, and schools to decide on the implementation. The NEP 2020 enacts numerous
changes in India's education policy. It aims to increase state expenditure on education from
around 4% to 6% of the GDP as soon as possible.

In January 2015, a committee under former Cabinet Secretary T. S. R. Subramanian started the
consultation process for the New Education Policy. Based on the committee report, in June
2017, the draft NEP was submitted in 2019 by a panel led by former Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) chief Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan. The Draft New Education Policy
(DNEP) 2019, was later released by Ministry of Human Resource Development, followed by
a number of public consultations. The Draft NEP had 484 pages. The Ministry undertook a
rigorous consultation process in formulating the draft policy: "Over two lakh suggestions from
2.5 lakh gram panchayats, 6,600 blocks, 6,000 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), 676 districts were
received." The vision of the National Education Policy is:
“National Education Policy 2020 envisions an India-centric education system that contributes
directly to transforming our nation sustainably into an equitable and vibrant knowledge society
by providing high-quality education to all.”

Quality higher education must aim to develop individuals who are excellent, thoughtful, well-
rounded, and creative. It must enable a person to study one or more specialized areas of interest
at an in-depth level and develop character, ethical and constitutional values, intellectual
curiosity, scientific temper, creativity, service spirit, and the skills of the 21st century across a
range of fields, including sciences, social sciences, the arts, humanities, languages, personal,
technological the vocational subjects. The new education policy brings some fundamental
changes to the current system, and the key highlights are multidisciplinary universities and
colleges, with at least one in or near every district, revamping student curricula, pedagogy,
evaluation, and support for enhanced student experience, establishing a National Research
Foundation to support excellent peer-reviewed work and effectively seed study at universities
and colleges.

The main problems faced by the Indian higher education system includes enforced separation
of qualifications, early specialization and student streaming into restricted research areas, less
focus on research at most universities and schools, and lack of competitive peer-reviewed
academic research funding and large affiliated universities leading to low levels of
undergraduate education.
Institutional restructuring and consolidation aim to end the fragmentation of higher education
by transforming higher education institutions into large multidisciplinary, creating well-
rounded and innovative individuals, and transforming other countries educationally and
economically, increasing the gross enrolment ratio in higher education, including vocational
training, from 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2035.

Holistic and multidisciplinary education should strive in an integrated way to improve all
human capacities-mental, cultural, social, physical, emotional, and moral. In the long term,
such a comprehensive education shall be the method for all undergraduate programs, including
those in medical, technical, and vocational disciplines. Optimal learning environments and
support for students offer a holistic approach including adequate curriculum, interactive
pedagogy, consistent formative assessment, and adequate support for students.

Objectives of the study

The primary objective of this research is to study the impact of New Education Policy 2020 on
higher education. The study also outlines the salient features of NEP and analyses how they
affect the existing education system.
Research methodology
This research is a descriptive study. The necessary secondary data was collected from various
websites including those of Government of India, magazines, journals, other publications, etc.
This data was then analysed and reviewed to arrive at the inferences and conclusions.

II. SALIENT FEATURES OF NEP RELATED TO HIGHER EDUCATION

The new NEP has been introduced with an aim to formalize changes in the system from school
level to college/university level. Keeping in mind the developing scenario, education content
henceforth, will focus on key-concepts, ideas, applications and problem-solving angles. The
National Education Policy is expected to bring positive and long-lasting impact on the higher
education system of the country. The fact that foreign universities will be allowed to open
campuses in India is a commendable initiative by the government. This will help the students
experience the global quality of education in their very own country. The policy of introducing
multi-disciplinary institutes will lead to a renewed focus on every field such as arts, humanities
and this form of education will help students to learn and grow holistically. Thus, students will
be equipped with stronger knowledge base.
The introduction of single common entrance test is another positive step which will reduce the
stress of multiple competitive exams and ease off the pressure of preparing for so many of
them. It will also ensure a level playing ground for all student applicants going forward.
Establishing Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) is definitely a robust idea to store the academic
credits that students earn by taking courses from various recognized higher education
institutions. A student can earn scores by completing a course and these will be credited to the
ABC account. One can then transfer these credits if he/she decides to switch colleges. If a
student ever drops out for some reasons, these credits will remain intact which means he/she
can come back years later and pick up from where the student had left.

The new higher education regulatory structure will ensure that distinct administrative,
accreditation, financing, and academic standard-setting roles are performed by separate,
autonomous, and empowered bodies. These four structures will be established as four
independent verticals within a single umbrella institution, India’s Higher Education
Commission (HECI). There are a lot of reforms and new developments which have been
introduced by NEP in the higher education sector. Some of the salient features are:
• Single regulatory body for higher education:
The NEP aims to establish Higher Education Commission of India which will be the single
regulatory body except for legal and medical education.
• Multiple entry and exit programme:
There will be multiple entry and exit options for those who wish to leave the course in the
middle. Their credits will be transferred through Academic Bank of Credits.
• Tech- based option for adult learning through apps, TV channels:
Quality technology-based options for adult learning such as apps, online courses/modules,
satellite-based TV channels, online books, and ICT-equipped libraries and Adult Education
Centres, etc. will be developed.
• E-courses to be available in regional languages:
Technology will be part of education planning, teaching, learning, assessment, teacher, school,
and student training. The e-content to be available in regional languages, starting with 8 major
languages – Kannada, Odia, Bengali among others to join the e-courses available in Hindi and
English.
• Foreign universities to set-up campuses in India:
World’s top 100 foreign universities will be facilitated to operate in India through a new law.
According to the HRD Ministry document, “such (foreign) universities will be given special
dispensation regarding regulatory, governance, and content norms on par with other
autonomous institutions of India.”
• Common entrance exam for all colleges:
The common Entrance exam for all higher education institutes to be held by National Testing
Agency (NTA). The exam will be optional.
• A Higher Education Council of India (HECI) will be set up to regulate higher education.
The council's goal will be to increase gross enrollment ratio. The HECI will have 4
verticals:
a) National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC), to regulate higher
education, including teacher education, while excluding medical and legal
education.
b) National Accreditation Council (NAC), a "meta-accrediting body".
c) Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC), for funding and financing of
universities and colleges. This will replace the existing National Council for
Teacher Education, All India Council for Technical Education and
the University Grants Commission.
d) General Education Council (GEC), to frame "graduate attributes", namely the
learning outcomes expected. It will also be responsible in framing a National
Higher Education Qualification Framework (NHEQF). The National Council
for Teacher Education will come under the GEC, as a professional standard
setting body (PSSB).

III. DETAILED ANALYSIS OF IMPACT OF NEP ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Regulatory System of Higher Education:

A significant change in NEP 2020 is the proposal to set up the Higher Education Commission
of India (HECI), as an umbrella body for higher education, excluding medical and legal
education. This will usually bring out a question that what will happen to the present UGC and
AICTE? HECI is aiming at reforming the higher education sector; the Bill will separate the
Academic and Funding aspects of the sector. According to the new Bill, HECI will not have
any financial powers. The funding processes which were handled by the University Grants
Commission (UGC) will be taken care by the Ministry of Education, previously known as the
Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). This change however is expected to clear
the regulatory mess in India’s Higher Education system. HECI is expected to have four
independent verticals - National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC) for
regulation, General Education Council (GEC) for standard-setting, Higher Education Grants
Council (HEGC) for funding, and National Accreditation Council (NAC) for accreditation. To
have uniformity in education standards, a single umbrella body was always a requirement and
this has been a vision of numerous educationists. This is considered as the right step in
streamlining education policy. However, to ensure quality of higher education, institutes must
be measured based on relevant parameters like research, industry linkages, placements and
academic excellence, etc. If the HECI can manage this, the benefits to its biggest stakeholder,
the youth of India, might be significant.

Graded Accreditation and Graded Autonomy:

The concept of “empowerment and autonomy to innovate” is one of the key features in NEP
2020 which supports a “phasing out” strategy from Affiliated Colleges to Autonomous
Institutions. The increased flexibility offered to autonomous institutions also gives hope in
curriculum enrichment. It also says that with appropriate accreditations, Autonomous degree-
granting Colleges could evolve into Research-intensive or Teaching-intensive Universities, if
they so aspire. The announcement of setting up Multidisciplinary Education and Research
Universities (MERUs) in the country gives more hope. These institutions will be at par with
the existing IITs and IIMs and will aim to showcase multidisciplinary education for the Indian
students.

Another important change the NEP 2020 suggests that the National Testing Agency will serve
as a premier, expert, autonomous testing organization to conduct entrance examinations for
undergraduate and graduate admissions and fellowships in Higher Education Institutions. The
high quality, range, and flexibility of the NTA testing services will enable most universities to
use these common entrance exams - rather than having hundreds of universities each devising
their own entrance exams - thereby drastically reducing the burden on students, universities
and colleges, and the entire education system. It will be left up to individual universities and
colleges to use NTA assessments for their admissions. It also surely helps the students to easily
transfer their degrees and credits to universities abroad.
Internationalisation at home:
NEP 2020 also allows foreign universities and colleges to come to India and this brings out a
challenge for the native institutions to improve the quality of education provided by them. The
Indian higher education sector is buzzing all around as the opportunity of paving the way for
foreign universities to set up campuses in the country. India has one of the largest networks of
higher education systems in the world, with more than 900 universities and 40,000 colleges.
But GER (Gross Enrolment Ratio) of India in higher education is 26.3%, which is significantly
low when compared to other BRICS countries like Brazil (50%) or China (51%), and very
much lower when compared with European and North American nations which would be more
than 80%. India must achieve a significant growth in the area of global higher education for
obtaining a sustainable economic growth, which should not be driven by natural resources, but
by knowledge resources. As per the reports, India will need another more than 1,500 new higher
education institutions by 2030 to accommodate a huge inflow of students, that’s why the Indian
government wants to promote FDIs (Foreign Direct Investment) and open up the ECB
(External Commercial Borrowing) route to strengthen the capital investment for the education
sector.

The ministry is also trying to boost India’s image as an education center because already more
than 7 Lakhs of Indian students are studying abroad. So, the intention of this policy is that,
allowing foreign universities will enable world-class education available locally at a
significantly lower cost without travelling and will considerably reduce the human capital
migrating to other countries for study and job prospects. According to the different global
surveys, cross-border education is beneficial for the economy and brings a wider level of global
awareness, culturally perceptive, and competitiveness. Foreign collaborations enable local
institutes to design their curriculum in alignment with international pedagogy and offer a
diverse portfolio of subjects and specialization to students.

More Holistic and Multidisciplinary Education:

The NEP 2020 claims that, a holistic and multidisciplinary education would aim to develop all
capacities of human beings -intellectual, aesthetic, social, physical, emotional, and moral in an
integrated manner. Such an education will help develop well-rounded individuals that possess
critical 21st century capacities in fields across the arts, humanities, languages, sciences, social
sciences, and professional, technical, and vocational fields; an ethic of social engagement; soft
skills, such as communication, discussion and debate; and rigorous specialization in a chosen
field or fields. The NEP 2020 envisions one large multidisciplinary Higher Education
Institution (HEI) in or near every district, by 2030.

Towards the attainment of such a holistic and multidisciplinary education, the flexible and
innovative curricula of all HEIs shall include credit-based courses and projects in the areas of
community engagement and service, environmental education, and value-based education.
Environment education will include areas such as climate change, pollution, waste
management, sanitation, conservation of biological diversity, management of biological
resources and biodiversity, forest and wildlife conservation, and sustainable development and
living. Value-based education will include the development of humanistic, ethical,
Constitutional, and universal human values of truth (satya), righteous conduct (dharma), peace
(shanti), love (prem), nonviolence (ahimsa), scientific temper, citizenship values, and also life-
skills; lessons in seva/service and participation in community service programmes will be
considered an integral part of a holistic education.

As the world is becoming increasingly interconnected, Global Citizenship Education (GCED),

a response to contemporary global challenges, will be provided to empower learners to become
aware of and understand global issues and to become active promoters of more peaceful,
tolerant, inclusive, secure, and sustainable societies. Finally, as part of a holistic education,
students at all HEIs will be provided with opportunities for internships with local industry,
businesses, artists, crafts persons, etc., as well as research internships with faculty and
researchers at their own or other HEIs/research institutions, so that students may actively
engage with the practical side of their learning and, as a by-product, further improve their
employability.

The structure and lengths of degree programmes:

In the context of the National Education Policy 2020 scheme, any undergraduate degree in any
institution will be of duration of three or four years. One can leave the degree within this period.
Any educational institution will have to give to the student a diploma degree after the student
completes two years of study, a degree after the student completes three years of study and a
certificate to those students who complete one year of study in any professional or vocational
course of their choice. The Government of India will also help in establishing an Academic
Bank of Credit for storing the academic scores digitally. This will enable the institutions to
count the credit at the end and put it in the degree of the student. This will be helpful for those
individuals who might have to leave the course mid-way. They can start the course later on
from where they left off and not start from the beginning once again. Even though NEP 2020
says that Higher education institutions will be given the freedom to start PG courses there may
be some difficulty in designing One Year PG Degree for students who have completed 4 Year
UG Degree and a Two Year PG Degree for students who have completed 3 Year UG Degree.

IV.CONCLUSION

The policy introduces a whole gamut of changes and reads largely as a very progressive
document, with a firm grasp on the current socio-economic landscape and the prospect of future
uncertainty. Education for a new generation of learners has to essentially engage with the
increasing dematerialisation and digitalisation of economies, which requires a completely new
set of capabilities in order to be able to keep up. This seems to be an even more vital perquisite
now, with the trend towards digitalisation and disruptive automation being quickened by the
pandemic. Overall, the NEP 2020 addresses the need to develop professionals in a variety of
fields ranging from Agriculture to Artificial Intelligence. India needs to be ready for the future.
And the NEP 2020 paves the way ahead for many young aspiring students to be equipped with
the right skillset.

The new education policy has a laudable vision, but its strength will depend on whether it is
able to effectively integrate with the other policy initiatives of government like Digital India,
Skill India and the New Industrial Policy to name a few, in order to effect a coherent structural
transformation. Hence, policy linkages can ensure that education policy addresses to and learns
from Skill India’s experience in engaging more dynamically with the corporate sector to shape
vocational education curriculum in order to make it a success. There is also a necessity for
more evidence-based decision-making, to adapt to rapidly evolving transmutations and
disruptions. NEP has reassuringly provisioned for real-time evaluation systems and a
consultative monitoring and review framework. This shall empower the education system to
constantly reform itself, instead of expecting for a new education policy every decade for a
shift in curriculum. This, in itself, will be a remarkable achievement. The NEP 2020 is a
defining moment for higher education. Effective and time-bound implementation is what will
make it truly path-breaking.
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Ajay Kurien: is the Assistant Co-ordinator of Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), MACFAST. He
completed his MBA in Marketing and Finance and his areas of interests are quality assurance, project
management and public relations.

Sudeep B. Chandramana: is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management Studies, MACFAST.

He completed his PhD in Consumer Behaviour in Retail Industry. His areas of interests are strategic
management, sustainable development and international business.

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